The Shout of the King
February 17, 2024 | 10:40 am
Numbers 23:21(NIV) -No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The Lord their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them.
As soon as our fourth baby was born, we discovered that she was having trouble breathing and had to undergo a corrective procedure leading to a two-day stay in the Neonatal ICU. This verse kept ringing in my mind during this dark season.
In Numbers chapters 1 and 2, God commands Moses to count the number of warriors in the camp. This looks like the only time God wanted His people counted seeing as when King David tried it years later it had serious repercussions. Over 70,000 Israelites died as a result (2 Samuel 24).
Moses counted and discovered that there were slightly more than 600,000 warriors in the camp. At this point, I expected God to send out His people for war against their enemies. I mean why go through all these trouble if not for war? God was reorganizing the camp. Order always precedes success. His people had to be ordered rightly for them to succeed!
He begins with the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun on the Eastern side to form the camp of Judah which had 186,400 warriors. In the south, He set up the camp of Reuben made up of the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad with 151,450 warriors. To the west, was the camp of Ephraim made up of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin with 108,100 warriors. The camp of Dan in the north was made up of the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali with 157,600 warriors.
The Levites surrounded the Tabernacle. Moses and the priests were positioned in the eastern side next to the camp of Judah. The Kohathites were next to the camp of Reuben in the south, the Gershonites were next to the camp of Ephraim in the west and the Merarites were next to the camp of Dan in the north.
This whole arrangement was in the form of a cross! The camp of Judah was the body and legs section( seeing as they were the majority in the camp). The camps of Reuben and Dan were the hands (since they had near equal numbers) while the camp of Ephraim were the head sections (seeing as they were the minority). God saw the solution to redeeming mankind-the cross- being displayed at the Israelite camp.
The Tabernacle was stationed right at the heart of the Israelite camp where the fire and the incense were continually burning before the Lord. The cloud by day and pillar of fire by night of God’s presence continually led his people through the wilderness. God was at the center of the Israeli camp.
As Prophet Balaam soon realized, it was not easy to attack the Israelites. The display of the cross, the continual burnt offerings and the burning incense spoke of forgiveness and worship which enabled God the King to dwell among them. God was their King and His shout was among them.
As I watched our baby covered in beeping machines in NICU, I kept reminding myself and the Lord that He was the center of our lives. We really had no one to look to but Him. Together with my husband, we worshiped and prayed and the Lord deliver our baby. God even gave us the vision to start a hospital where we could provide low-cost NICU services to our community. We believe God to see this come to pass!
God has not promised that the weapons shall not be fashioned, but He has promised that they shall not prosper. He has not promised that Balaams will not curse, but He has promised that the curses shall not hold because where is no sin, a curse cannot hold (Proverbs 26:3). Our Baby is alive and well. We give a shout to the King!
The praise of the King represents our worship and humble hearts before God. Whenever and wherever we create this atmosphere, no weapon fashioned against us can prosper (Isaiah 54:17). There is no misfortune nor misery upon a God- fearing people having a shout of the King!
Hallelujah!!